


See What You See

by confelicitous



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Address ALL the interactions that still need to happen, F/M, Give V and Yoosung TIME, Give all the characters the closure they deserve, Post-Canon, Reader is MC's best friend, Rika and Saeran WORDS THAT NEED TO BE SAID, Therapy has helped with the PTSD, Zen and Jumin UNDERSTANDING
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 07:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8154830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confelicitous/pseuds/confelicitous
Summary: MC and Saeyoung set Saeran up for disaster. Well, okay, a date with MC’s best friend. But anything those two touch is obviously dripping in trouble. Suffice to say, the end isn't the end quite yet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Give them closure (tm), Cheritz. What the fresh hell.
> 
> Additionally, I couldn't bear to pull Seven and MC away from each other, since they have excellent chemistry, haha.
> 
> This can also be found on my Tumblr: Otomess!

_“…I’ve been set up.”_

Saeran piqued an eyebrow up in confusion, raising his gaze for the first time in the last few minutes to meet her gaze. That hadn’t come from him…right? The look on her smug expression proved him correct.

 _“That’s what you’re thinking, right? Saeyoung’s going to pay for setting me up to this! Maybe if I pretend I’m not here, she won’t see me! ”_ She laughed tenderly, albeit the awkwardness that met her head on. Admirable, really. To face the thick atmosphere like this so squarely.

“…That’s not—“

Well, he had been spending a _sizable_ amount of time silently boring his gaze into the table cloth. He honestly had no respectable way to deny it. Never, in the 26 years of his life, had he ever considered the thought of, well, living a normal life. It did cross his mind a few times when he was younger, but…

Anyway, dating definitely was out of the question. _Stupid, rather._

And dating his sister-in-law’s best friend? _He’d rather shit on his own grave._

“Excuse me, your food is ready,” A waitress. Thank God.

Or whoever was up there.

“Ah, thank you,” they answered simultaneously, bowing their heads in common courtesy. That pathetically minor display was something he had picked up with years of exasperating therapy and counseling. (And his phenomenally _(p.h.e.n.o.m.e.n.a.l.l.y.)_ infuriating brother, of course.) At the very least, it had been drilled in his head that being a violent inconvenience (read: _piece of shit_ ) to others would only be an inconvenience to himself in the end.

To his relief, they ate in silence. It was a… place. A nice place? Second floor, above a café. _At least there were windows._

Though…he couldn’t help feeling as though everyone here was scrutinizing him silently. Imagining their gazes boring into him, he tried to remind himself that it was simply that. Imagining.

The eyes that followed in pursuit of his dissonant nerves, the eyes that clawed at any moment of frailty in his part. The eyes that sought to judge. A low sigh slipped from his lips, as he reclaimed his mind as his own. If he just thought things out slowly, his paranoia would subside. 

Yes.

Just like that.

Aside from the anxiety that was eating away at him, he relished in the idea of this occasion being cut short. Maybe she’d realize he wasn’t interested and leave in a rush to force him to pay the bill? Well, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise. _Right_. He didn’t have any expectations for today.

Sighing internally, he wondered if he should at least meet her eye once. Though he hated to admit it, his recovery brought out a certain meekness that was akin to how he acted when he was younger. He was going soft again. But was that such a bad thing, after all?

It wasn’t. But he was such a radically different person in his time with Mint—His stomach churned uncomfortably, leaving that thought incomplete. It had been years but he still couldn’t properly think about that damn cult without wanting to retch.

Forcing his gaze away from the window, he directed it towards the calm girl across from him. He blinked in surprise, as he found her staring intently out the same window he had been for the last few minutes. She seemed rather immersed, as though seeking something out of all that _nothing_ outside.

“You know, I see an elephant, haha. Annnnnd….Now it’s gained a leg in a freak accident. Huh.” She paused, without realizing he had stopped to look at her instead. “What do you see?”

When she turned and met his eyes instead of the side of his head, her expression brightened in an almost blinding manner. The way her eyes lit up unabashedly made him instinctively turn away, as he attempted to swallow the embarrassment bubbling to the surface. _How could she do that?_ Who would leave their emotions _that_ painfully out in the open?

“Hmm?” She hummed in curiosity, without a skip in her beat. Perhaps she went back to look out the window again, because she hadn’t pushed any further.  

He had managed not to go completely red like an idiot, but he still found it pitifully difficult to find his voice. Focusing solely on the sky seen through the windows, he mustered an answer as an attempt to regain his composure.

“…A rabbit.” Unexpectedly, his voice came off softer than he thought. Had he always spoken so gently, or was he still recovering from how inanely at ease she was?  

Saeran felt particularly small today.

“Oh! Your rabbit has a giant broccoli companion now.” He could hear her chuckle under her breath. It was faint but still rang clear amidst all the casual clatter of plates and silverware.

“…Why are you…” He was tired of himself already. _Just say it._ It wasn’t that hard to strike up a conversation. _Just. Say. Something._

“…Why are you so interested in looking out that window?” Yes. Good. Lackluster, but it had some conviction to it. He found himself observing her this time, out of the corner of his eye.

“I want to see what you see.”

_Huh?_

Forget looking at her from the corner of his eye. He stared at her squarely, attempting to discern what she meant by that. She probably intended nothing special, but nonetheless, her frankness piqued his interest.

“What…I see?”

“Well you’ve been staring out that window since the very beginning of lunch until now. Absentmindedly, mind you, but still. You seemed content.”

 _Judging._ _She must have been._

“With a piiiiiiinch of wistfulness too,” she added while smiling goofily. She even pinched her fingers together to add to the effect. How strange.

 _Judging. She was no different._                                                                                                                                                    

“You must find it strange then,” he stated promptly. He knew she would. Everyone did. He felt the same boiling in the pit of his stomach as he did when he got out of that damn hell hole.

_Judg—_

“If that’s strange, then count me in, too!” She was beaming. He realized his eyes had widened a bit too much, so he had to put up a wall before he found himself gawking too.

“ _What_?”

“Listen,” she paused, as though everything in life came so easily. “What’s so wrong with being happy?” 

His internal demons hushed up immediately. As did he.

For some reason or another, it felt as though something had lifted off his shoulders, if only slightly. As though he could give himself a little space to breath. She made it sound so obvious. It was so easy. So what was wrong? What was wrong with being happy?

“…”

“I want to see what you see. That’s all.” Her eyes softened as she repeated herself with the same certainty. She surely played it off naturally though.

But was it really as easy as she made it out to be?

“…Wings.”

“Huh?” This time it was her turn to strike a look of confusion.

“The rabbit just gained its wings.”

 

* * *

 

“ _Fuck no_.”

“Aiiish! Come on, it wouldn’t hurt Saeran!! Your dearest brother Saeyoung ensures customer satisfaction is guaranteed!”

Even his bizarre glasses seemed to be giving off this dodgy, “ _it-was-nice-knowing-you_ ” glint. He didn’t know what this so-called “date” entailed, but it was probably better that he didn’t. Saeran swore under his breath, tempering his exasperation with the driest sigh he could possibly manage.

“ _No—“_

“And what ever happened to you cutting down on those curse words, hmmmmm? Don’t you know cursing builds up like carbs?”

Was it legal to _gently_ stuff your brother in a box and _kindly_ mail him off to an obscure island in the Pacific? Then again, Saeyoung could essentially thrive just about anywhere with that outlandish, extraterrestrial personality he was going for nowadays.

“...Look, I’m working on it.” Saeran crossed both arms against his chest, internally cursing himself for cursing.

Wait. _Crap._

Ugh, why did he even bother? A good “no-curse” streak like that one always ended whenever his brother tried to rustle up a shit storm.

“Plus, why the hell would I _ever_ go on an arranged date? Let alone one by _The Terrible Two,_ themselves?”

“Because it’s with my best friend who, in fact, said the exact same thing,” said the girl sitting on the couch, reading a magazine. She was so familiar with the family antics now that she didn’t bother looking up at this point. Though her sing-song voice and the teasing finger she waved in the air insinuated that she was sincerely invested in pissing him off as well.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? She did? But she’s ten times as sweet as Saeran is, even when he gets his daily vitamins and a good night’s sleep!”

Saeran jabbed him with a daggered stare, his gaze iced over. His _dear_ brother yelped, immediately raising his hands up in frightened defense. He crinkled his nose in response, since he, of all people, knew that damn puppy-dog act from the inside out.  

“Weeeelllll, you know she rejected without the cursing and the overall attitude, Saeyoung-honey.”

_Shit._

Saeran’s mind immediately alerted him of the eminent danger that was approaching. His gaze instantly honed onto the imprudent, giddy smile slapped across his brother’s face.

_Glasses glint level: 85%._

“I guess she’s just not as sweet as you though, my _honey_ ~!” Saeyoung bounced over to the couch, to loom over her from behind. “But a little feistiness could do Saeran some good, don’t you think~?”

“Awww, come on, _sweet heart~_ Stop with the sugary words! You’re making me cringe…” Making _her_ cringe? If she was cringing, his soul was already descending into the 5 th ring of secondhand embarrassment hell.

“Besides, I think I got through to her in the end, ehehe,” she added, with a hint of smugness in that laugh of hers.

“Oh, for the love of—“ Saeran wasn’t going to be drowned neck deep in this disgusting romantic bullshit if he had anything to say about it. “Listen. I’m leaving. You two can blather like lovesick fools all you want _after_ I’ve removed myself and what’s left of my sanity from the premise.” 

As he was just about to turn tail and escape for his dear life, the two love birds abruptly (and quite violently, mind you) jolted up onto their feet. He could only guess that they were sharing the same shit-eating grin between themselves.

“I’ll grab the camera, God Saeyoung~! Will you grab the secret weapon?”

Saeran felt his blood chill, as his heart plummeted straight into the pit of his stomach. He picked up his pace, praying to whatever god was out there to strike him down now so he didn’t need to suffer this earthly fate.

“God sugarpea~ …It’ll be my pleasure.”

Before he could turn the corner to his room, he could hear his brother sprint straight at him at ungodly speeds.

Fate was never that merciful, after all. 

 

* * *

 

“Hmmm….. Yeah, no thanks.” I shifted the pillow I was embracing slightly, as though offhandedly swatting away her offer.

“That was fast…! You didn’t even need to think on it even a little?” The disappointment that shone clearly in her eyes kind of cut too close for comfort. Sometimes, she hung her heart on her sleeve, so that it’d be effortlessly shared with others.  

“Well you know how busy I am, haha! Employed but still eating ramyeon off a pot lid like a grade schooler…” I chuckled halfheartedly, hoping she’d catch on real quick that I just didn’t have the time. I was saving up… and well! Ramyeon was good. But she’d never take that answer if she had anything to say about it.

_Yeah, she was a sneaky little sweetheart._

“When was the last time you had some dukbokki? Some steak? Come on~ A meal is always better if you have someone to eat it with~!”

_And I…_

“No~! Thanks~!”         

_I read her like a book._

She puffed up her cheeks in feux-exasperation, as though being the cute kind of angry would work when we’d known each other for years. I laughed wholeheartedly, having just a bit too much fun watching her try and set me up in vain. My eyes narrowed mischievously as a comfortable smirk spread across my face.

“Aw, don’t be that way! Not everyone has the sheer willpower to disappear for a good handful of months…” I waggled a single finger in the air.

“…Become the PR for some high-class, exclusive party for a bunch of strangers…” And another one.

“…And show up with the love of her life in her arms after some phantasmal escapade that I still have no details about.” A third and final one, just for the effect.

“Hey, there are reasons for that, okay?!” If her cheeks could puff any further she’d probably pop. “And what does any of that have to do with the date?”

One of my brows piqued in amusement. “You’re trying to set me up with _Mr. Alien Spaceman’s brother_ and you still think none of that matters?”

She blinked. “You know, for such a nice person, you’re not so nice sometimes.”

I snapped two finger guns at her and winked, playing along casually.

“Right back at ‘cha, Mrs. Alien Spaceman.”

My best friend snorted, in the most _elegant_ manner, attempting to cover it up with a hand. (Which, of course, failed miserably.) I couldn’t help but snicker along with her, as our conversation dissolved into hearty laughter. Yeah, for such nice people, we just couldn’t help poke fun at each other until the both of us burst into stupid laughter.

That’s what friends were for, after all.

When the laughter died down, I thought I’d humor her for a bit longer. Rather than make this wholly about the arranged date, I still just wanted to spend some time catching up. The more the years stacked up against our backs, the more difficult it was to find days to meet up. We’d always manage somehow, though.

“Listen, nothing phases me nowadays, but… have you ever stopped to consider that you got yourself tangled in some extraordinary stuff?” Extraordinary may have been an understatement, but at this point, I was sugarcoating the whole ordeal.

“Well the situation may have been a bit over-the-top, but all the members of the RFA are normal, you know.”

“Riiiiiiiiiiight. I mean, you’re not wrong.” She wasn’t. They were people too, and I couldn’t deny that they were all phenomenally interesting. “And I loved them when I had the chance to meet them at your wedding. But—“ 

“But what? You’d rather spend the little time you have with digital men instead?”

_I cannot believe she just said that. **I cannot believe she just said that!**_

“Oooooooooooooh. Calling me out!” I put my hands up, feigning defeat. “I guess someone is above childishly downloading an obscure messaging app for quote unquote ‘ _hot guys’_.”

Hah! She went completely red in the face, as her ears lit up like Christmas lights. _Pfft._ Well, she asked for it.

“Why you…!”

She grabbed one of the pillows, trying to smack some rightful karma into me. I instantly blocked with the pillow that I had been warming up for this moment. Karma can only smite the slow ones, anyway.

“Hey, hahaha!” I ducked as she swung for a hard right. Oh God, she was actually out to kill and I couldn’t stop laughing. “Hey, I’ve got a proposition for you!”

Swinging again, she grazed my left cheek. She was giggling uncontrollably. “This better be good!”

“Yeah, yeah!” I nodded vigorously between each warm laugh. “I’m… kind of interested, okay?”

I smacked her directly with my own pillow; poor girl got a full subscription of flower-print straight to the face.

“Set me up if I’m not dead after all this!”


End file.
